Outbreak of Severe Pneumonia Traced to Adenovirus 14

Most of the visitors to this blog over the past few day I have arrived here because they were searching for stories about Adenovirus 14.

So I have been doing more research to see what I can learn and I found an older story but it is related and I think many readers may find the information helpful:

Outbreak of Severe Pneumonia Traced to Adenovirus 14
By Charles Bankhead, Staff Writer, MedPage Today
Reviewed by Robert Jasmer, MD; Associate Clinical Professor of Medicine, University of California, San Francisco
October 09, 2007

SAN DIEGO, Oct. 9 --
A potentially deadly form of community-acquired pneumonia linked to adenovirus type 14 has emerged in the Pacific northwest, according to a report presented here.

First encountered in 2005 in Oregon, the viral pneumonia frequently leads to hospitalization and has a 20% fatality rate, Paul Lewis, M.D., of the Oregon State Public Health Department, said at the Infectious Diseases Society of America meeting.

"We recommend obtaining a viral culture in pneumonia patients who lack a specific etiology, especially those with severe disease," said Dr. Lewis. "If adenovirus 14 is detected, anticipate a stormy course. We encourage an infectious disease consultation to discuss the risks and benefits of any specific therapy that might be contemplated."

Recognition of the adenoviral pneumonia began with four patients hospitalized simultaneously at a Portland hospital. Upon comparing notes with physicians at area hospitals, Dr. Lewis and colleagues "almost fell out of our chairs because every hospital we called had recent severe and fatal cases of adenovirus disease."

Investigators followed up the informal communication with a systematic review of all cases of adenovirus disease identified by Oregon clinical laboratories from November 2006 to April 2007. Six months of active surveillance revealed what appeared to be a winter-spring predominant adenovirus disease, as the number of reported cases increased from January through April.

Isolates from the sickest patients were sent to the CDC, which found that almost all the cases involved adenovirus 14, a serotype identified more than 50 years ago but rarely detected since then and never in association with outbreaks.


To read the rest of the report follow this link: 14